


Hope Is An Island

by Denois



Series: AU August 2018 [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dex doesn't go to Samwell, Dex lives on an island, Dex repairs appliances, Dex works in his uncle's shop, Fluff, Getting Together, Inspired By Tumblr, M/M, Nursey's mom is a meddler, fluff?, sure, they don't actually see each other in person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-22 07:48:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15577185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Denois/pseuds/Denois
Summary: Dex thought he might actually make it home on time for a change. The repairs were all complete, the shelves were stocked, he still needed to sweep the floor out front, but traffic had been light so he would probably get that done before closing time and then it would just be a matter of locking up and counting down.Then he got sent on an emergency repair trip to help Dr. Nurse.Dex never felt so lucky to work late.





	Hope Is An Island

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this tumblr post.](http://nerdyglassescheeseychick.tumblr.com/post/176592020277/my-mom-actually-got-me-my-gf-cause-she-came-up-to)
> 
> AU August from [this tumblr post](https://lnc2.tumblr.com/post/174925809860/au-yeah-august), but I'm going my own schedule.
> 
> Much love to [B_Frizzy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/b_frizzy) and [Lukutoukka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lukutoukka) for the Beta.

Dex thought he might actually make it home on time for a change. The repairs were all complete, the shelves were stocked, he still needed to sweep the floor out front, but traffic had been light so he would probably get that done before closing time and then it would just be a matter of locking up and counting down. His uncle had manned the register all day, but he insisted on having two people there for all cash counts. He’d said something about good accounting practices for fraud prevention.

So, Dex was resigned to the fact he never got off right at closing, but he thought that this time it might be close. Then his uncle called him up to the front.

“Just got a call for an emergency repair on Hope Island. Need you to head out right away. I’ll call in Kayla to help me close up.” 

“Hope? I didn’t think the Cacoulidises were back yet.” Dex was already pulling his phone out while he was talking. John Roy wouldn’t say he needed to go unless he did.

“I guess they’ve got a friend staying for a bit. Or maybe the rented it out. Contact’s name is Dr. Nurse.” John Roy held up a hand. “No, really.”

“Dr. Nurse. Got it. Do you think Luis will be at the docks this time of day?” Dex scrolled through his contacts list.

“Nah, he works with ol’ Jonesy on Thursdays. Try Curtis.”

“Curtis Donaldson or Curtis Murphy?”

“Donaldson. He’s been running some charters. His kid’s trying to trying convince him that ecotourism is the wave of the future.”

Dex lifted his hand in a half wave, half salute and headed out the door. “See you tomorrow, John Roy.”

It wasn’t a long boat ride from Cliff Island to Hope Island, but Dex pulled his cap down anyway. He hadn’t brought any sunblock and while he had some with his lobster gear, he didn’t have any in his toolbox. Curtis dropped him at the dock on Hope, but no one was there to meet him. He sighed and hefted his toolbox. “Fuck, I hope Dr. Nurse is at the main house.” 

Luckily, when he rang the bell, it was answered. A slender black woman, nearly a foot shorter than him, stood in the open doorway and peered at him expectantly.

“Dr. Nurse?” He pulled his cap off and nodded his head towards her.

A grin broke over her face like the sun dawning. “Yes, that’s me. You can call me Jasmine, though. You must be William? John said you’d be coming.”

“Yes, ma’am. He said you had an appliance that needs an emergency repair?” He stepped into the cool foyer, glad for the air conditioning. 

He followed her through long corridors, filled with fancy furniture. He tried not to touch any of it. He was probably coated in grease and grime that would greatly reduce the value of the items in this house. 

She led him to a small room with a washer and dryer. There was a pile of towels around the washer, most of them soaked through. 

“I was in the middle of a load when it just went haywire. I got it shut off and turned off the water line to the room, but I’m not sure what happened.” She leaned against the door jamb and watched him as he looked around the back of the machine.

“Don’t think I’m questioning what you say, but for safety, I’m going to double check the water line and disconnect everything before I start.” He shrugged his shoulders a bit. Sometimes it was easier if people just didn’t do anything and let him deal with it start to finish, otherwise they might think he’s questioning them when it’s just a safety verification that had been drilled into his head for years. The electric shock from a house probably wouldn’t do lasting damage to him, but with water in the area, well, electrocution wasn’t his idea of a good time.

Dr. Nurse raised an eyebrow. “Good man.” 

She didn’t say anything else, just watched as he got the machine disconnected and away from the wall and started working through his internal checklist to find the issue.

“You know, you remind me of my son.” Her smooth voice washed over him.

Dex was used to working in silence, or with music playing if he was at the shop. It was really unusual for a customer to actually want to watch him work. He expected to find it annoying, but instead he didn’t mind.

“He like to take things apart and put them back together? Or just really freckly?” He glanced up and flashed a smile at her, which she returned.

“No, he’s usually the reason I have to call the repairmen. Repair people? Repair persons. Not from purposefully taking it apart and just not getting it back together right. He’s just…. He gets into his own head too much sometimes.” 

Dex raised his brows in return. “I guess maybe my Ma might say the same. Sure.”

“He’s about your age, you’re built the same too. He plays hockey at Samwell down in Massachusetts. Maine boy like you, you probably play some?” When Dex looked up again, she was scrolling through her phone while talking.

“Yeah. I actually play d-line at UMaine Orono. If we both make playoffs, I’ll say hey. No promises that I’ll go easy on him, though.” He felt his eyes crinkle with his smile.

A phone was shoved in front of him and he leaned back away from the work to look at it. The image on the screen was probably the most gorgeous boy that Dex had ever seen, soft curls cascading over his forehead, grey-green eyes alight with his laughter, sharp cheekbones softened by stubble, warm brown skin glowing. Dex swallowed. 

“He looks like a great guy. You must be proud.”

She hummed her assent and pulled the phone back out of his face. Dex noticed that her eyes had been trained on him and she was smirking a bit. “Do you know what they say about Samwell? It has a kind of unofficial motto. One in four, maybe more. But still, Derek complains, he can’t find a boyfriend. I keep telling him, just be patient and the right boy will come along.” 

Dex tightened his grip on his screwdriver and swallowed again. Dr. Nurse moved out of the laundry room and Dex relaxed, refocusing on the task at hand. 

He finally found the issue and got it repaired and everything put back in order, including mopping up the water from before he arrived. He was just putting the towels into a laundry basket when she returned. 

“Here’s the payment that John quoted over the phone. If the actual labor was different, just have him call me and I’ll get the rest to you.” She pressed a check into his hand and he glanced to make sure it was signed and everything before putting it in his pocket. That’s a mistake you only make once. 

“I’m sure that this will cover it. If this was the only issue, I’ll get out of your hair.” He moved to pick up his toolbox, but she grabbed his forearm before he could.

“This is my son’s number. Maybe you should call him and let him know that his mom does know what she’s talking about.” She raised her brows at him again and smirked when he put the number in his pocket as well. “I’ll show you the way back to the door. This place is a maze.”

Once he was back out in the hot sun with the door shut behind him, he called Curtis to for a ride back to Cliff Island. He shook his head and then walked down to the dock trying to convince himself that calling the number was a mistake. Just because Derek told his mom that he couldn’t find someone, didn’t mean he was telling the truth. Face and body like in that picture? He couldn’t have a problem hooking up, right?

Curtis wasn’t at the docks when he arrived, and Dex spent some time turning his phone around in his hands before finally pulling the paper with the number out of his pocket and opening up his texts.

> -You really such a whiny bottom that even your ma knows?

He hit send before he could talk himself out of it and then stretched out on the dock to wait. A few minutes later his phone buzzed.

> Hello Nurse: First of all. Rude.  
>  Hello Nurse: Second of all, I’m a verse, not a bottom.

  


Dex was about to reply when Curtis arrived. He wasn’t going to risk losing his phone to the ocean, so he shoved it in a pocket for the ride. Two more texts came in during the short trip.

> Hello Nurse: Third of all. Rude.  
>  Hello Nurse: Fourth of all, my mom might have just sent a picture of you working on a washing machine? That is you, right?

Dex wasn’t sure if the heat in his ears was the sun beaming down on him or a blush, but he figured it could be both. He hadn’t realized that she’d taken a picture of him while he was working.

> -Yeah, I guess that’s me. I didn’t realize she took my picture.
> 
> Hello Nurse: Oh damn. That’s not cool. I’ll talk to her.
> 
> -No. It’s ok. She showed me your pic. Turnabout’s fair play.

He had just cranked the engine in his truck when his phone buzzed with an incoming call, “Hello Nurse” across the caller ID.

“So, tell me more about how you fix things.”

Dex laughed. “Hi. I’m Will. You can call me Dex. Most people do.”

A sigh greeted his statement. “I’m Derek. You’ve met my mom. You can call me Nursey if you want. Or you know, anything you want.”

Dex swallowed. It was really unfair for this guy to be beautiful and have a beautiful voice. “Hi Derek.”

“So, you fix things a lot?”

“Really, you want to talk about my job? I thought you’d be more interested in talking about hockey, or, you know, other things.” Dex pushed as much innuendo into the last two words as he could. God, he hoped he wasn’t reading this wrong.

“Shit, you play hockey too? Mom’s holding out on me. Uh, give me a second.” The sound of movement and papers rustling came through the phone. “I just gotta buy a plane ticket to Maine real quick.”

Dex dropped his phone. “Shit!” Definitely not reading the situation wrong. It took him a minute to retrieve it from the floorboards.

“Hello? You didn’t hang up on me did you? Was that too much? I’m sorry. I thought. Nah. It’s chill. It’s chill. No big.”

“Fuck, Derek. I just dropped my phone. Once you got the ticket, tell me when you’re due to land so I can pick you up from the airport.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hit me up on tumblr at [SexyDexyNurse](https://sexydexynurse.tumblr.com/). Scream, curse, give me prompts, IDC.
> 
> Electric shock from a house absolutely can kill or maim you. However, sometimes people get lucky and they only get a minor shock from a poorly wired outlet. Dex and his family have been lucky, so Dex isn't 100% accurate in his calculations of his odds of being injured. However, part of the reason he's been lucky is because he still follows proper safety protocols and disconnects appliances and shuts off circuits. Be safe with electricity.
> 
> Nursey's mom has stolen all the Dr. Nurse jokes that Nursey would want to make. It's quite unfair.
> 
> Dex won her heart when he didn't assume she was just the wife of Dr. Nurse, and then later when he was thorough in his work.
> 
> Hope Island is a real island in Maine, it's privately owned by the Cacoulidises. I know nothing about them other than they live there part time. I do not know when they live there and I do not know if they would let a friend stay when they weren't there. Cliff Island is also a real island in Maine. To my knowledge there is not a hardware store/appliance repair shop owned by Poindexters on the island.
> 
> My HC is that they are both verse, that's pretty much how I always write them. FYI.
> 
> Samwell, Derek Nurse, and William Poindexter all belong to Ngozi.


End file.
